Connecticut: Small Estate Affidavit Thresholds & Procedure

Requirements one by one

Governing law

The core provision is Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-273, "Settlement of small
estates without probate of will or letters of administration," part of
Title 45a's Chapter 802b (Decedents' Estates). A companion section, §
45a-275, layers on a 30-day exclusivity condition tied to competing
probate filings. A separate and much narrower mechanism, § 45a-274, lets
a probate judge appoint an administrator ex parte just to collect up to
$1,000 in unpaid medical or health benefits or insurance proceeds — a
different, smaller tool from the main $40,000 procedure.

Dollar threshold

$40,000, covering only the decedent's solely-owned tangible and
intangible personal property — anything that already passes outside
probate by operation of law (like joint accounts or beneficiary-designated
assets) doesn't count toward the cap at all. This figure was last raised
from $20,000 by a 2007 act; the most recent amendment to this section, in
2024, only inserted a cross-reference to a different statute in one
subsection and left the dollar figure untouched. It isn't adjusted for
inflation.

Court filing required?

Yes — and this is a real Probate Court proceeding, not a document you
hand directly to a bank. The affidavit is filed "in the Probate Court in
the district in which the decedent resided." The court reviews it, and
if it finds no other probate proceeding is underway, it determines who's
entitled to payment and issues its own decree authorizing each bank or
other holder to transfer assets or pay out money. A bank acts because of
that court decree, not because of the affidavit by itself.

Waiting period after death

There's no fixed wait tied directly to the date of death for filing the
affidavit itself. Instead, the wait applies to the court's decree: once
the affidavit is filed, the court must notify the state's Department of
Administrative Services, and it "shall not issue a decree until thirty
days after" that notice goes out. Separately, this whole procedure only
remains available if no will has been submitted for probate and no
application for administration was filed within 30 days after the
death — a condition about competing filings, not a mandatory delay for
someone using this track from the outset.

Works with a will, intestacy, or both?

Both, but a will that departs from intestate shares triggers a layered
approval process. If there's no will, or if the will happens to match
what intestate succession would produce anyway, the court just orders
intestate-style distribution. If the will's distribution differs, the
court will still follow it — but only if the heirs at law sign a written
waiver of their right to contest the will. If the heirs won't waive that
right, the court can still order intestate-style distribution instead if
the will's own beneficiaries agree in writing. If neither side gives
ground, the court dismisses the affidavit entirely, and the matter has to
go through an ordinary will-admission proceeding instead.

Does it cover real property?

No, and it's an absolute bar, not a partial exclusion. The procedure is
only available if "the decedent had no solely owned real property in this
state at the time of his or her death" — owning even a small parcel
disqualifies the whole estate from this shortcut, forcing a full probate
proceeding instead. Survivorship (joint-tenancy) real property, which
already passes outside of probate automatically, doesn't count against
this condition.

Signature formalities

Lighter than a full notarized affidavit — the statute only requires the
document to be "signed under penalty of false statement," Connecticut's
statutory substitute for swearing an oath before a notary. The official
court form for this procedure has a single signature line for the person
filing it and no notary acknowledgment block or witness-signature lines
at all.

Protection for the bank/holder

Solid, but tied to the court's decree rather than the affidavit alone. A
bank or other holder that transfers property or pays money "pursuant to a
decree issued under this section shall... discharge the registrant or
holder of such property from liability to any person on account thereof."
On top of that statutory discharge, the holder can also insist on extra
protection before paying out — requiring waivers, an indemnity bond, or a
signed receipt as a condition of the transfer.

What trips people up

The real-property bar is the single biggest surprise for people coming
from a state where a small estate affidavit can at least partially cover
a house — in Connecticut, owning any real property at all takes the
entire estate out of this procedure, not just the real property itself.
A second trap: this isn't a document you can just fill out and hand to a
bank the way some other states allow — it has to go through Probate
Court, and the court's own 30-day notice-to-the-state period means the
process realistically takes at least a month even in a simple case. A
third: a will that gives different shares than intestate law would
doesn't automatically control — it needs either the heirs' written
waiver of their contest rights, or the will's own beneficiaries agreeing
to give up their extra share, before the court will honor it as written.

Common questions

Can I present the affidavit directly to my parent's bank? No —
Connecticut requires the affidavit to be filed with the Probate Court
first; the bank acts on the court's decree, not on the affidavit itself.

Does the threshold include the house? Not exactly — it's more
severe than that. Owning any real property in Connecticut at death
disqualifies the whole estate from this procedure, regardless of how
much personal property is involved.

How long does this take? At least a month in practice — the court
must notify a state agency after the affidavit is filed and can't issue
its decree until 30 days have passed since that notice went out.

What if the will leaves more to one child than an equal intestate
split would? The court can still honor the will, but only if the heirs
at law waive their right to contest it, or if the will's own
beneficiaries agree in writing to accept the intestate-style split
instead.

Statutes and sources

• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-273(a) — "If the aggregate value of a
  decedent's solely owned tangible and intangible personal property,
  excluding property that passes outside of probate by operation of
  law, does not exceed forty thousand dollars and the decedent had no
  solely owned real property in this state at the time of his or her
  death: (1) The decedent's surviving spouse; or (2) if there is no
  surviving spouse, any of the decedent's next of kin; or (3) if there
  is no next of kin or if the surviving spouse and next of kin refuse,
  any person whom the court deems to have a sufficient interest in the
  decedent's estate, including any person or entity to whom a claim,
  expense or tax is due, may, in lieu of filing a petition for
  admission of a will to probate or letters of administration, file an
  affidavit signed under penalty of false statement in the Probate
  Court in the district in which the decedent resided." —
  https://web.archive.org/web/2026/https://www.cga.ct.gov/2025/pub/chap_802b.htm
  (accessed 2026-07-06)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-273(c) — "On receipt of an affidavit, the
  court shall send a copy of the affidavit to the Department of
  Administrative Services. The court shall not issue a decree until
  thirty days after the date on which a copy of the affidavit was sent
  to the department. Except as provided in this subsection, the court
  may act on the affidavit without notice and hearing." —
  https://web.archive.org/web/2026/https://www.cga.ct.gov/2025/pub/chap_802b.htm
  (accessed 2026-07-06)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-273(f) — "If the fair value of the decedent's
  assets exceeds the total amount of claims, expenses, taxes and any
  amounts allowed to the family for support under section 45a-320, the
  court shall proceed as follows: (1) If no purported last will and
  testament is found, the court shall order distribution of the excess
  in accordance with the laws of intestate succession; (2) if the
  decedent left a duly executed last will and testament and the will
  provides for a distribution which is the same as that under the laws
  of intestate succession, the court shall order distribution of the
  excess in accordance with the laws of intestate succession; (3) if
  the decedent left a duly executed last will and testament and the
  will provides for a distribution different from that under the laws
  of intestate succession, and the heirs at law of such decedent sign a
  written waiver of their right to contest the will, the court shall
  order the excess to be paid in accordance with the terms of the will;
  (4) if the will directs a distribution different from the laws of
  intestate succession, and the persons entitled to bequests under the
  will consent, in writing, to the distribution of the estate in
  accordance with the laws of intestate succession, the court shall
  order distribution of the excess in accordance with the laws of
  intestate succession; and (5) if the will directs a distribution
  different from the laws of intestate succession, the heirs at law do
  not waive their right to contest the admission of such will, and the
  persons entitled to bequests under the will do not consent to the
  distribution of the estate in accordance with the laws of intestate
  succession, the court shall dismiss the affidavit and permit any
  party to petition for admission of the will to probate in accordance
  with section 45a-286." —
  https://web.archive.org/web/2026/https://www.cga.ct.gov/2025/pub/chap_802b.htm
  (accessed 2026-07-06)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-273(g)-(h) — "(g) Any such transfer or payment
  made pursuant to a decree issued under this section shall, to the
  extent of the amount so transferred or paid, discharge the registrant
  or holder of such property from liability to any person on account
  thereof. (h) As a condition of such transfer or payment, the
  registrant or holder may require the filing of appropriate waivers,
  the execution of a bond of indemnity and a receipt for such transfer
  or payment." —
  https://web.archive.org/web/2026/https://www.cga.ct.gov/2025/pub/chap_802b.htm
  (accessed 2026-07-06)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-275 — "Sections 45a-273 and 45a-274 shall
  apply only to estates of decedents for whom no will is presented for
  probate or no application for administration is filed within thirty
  days after death." —
  https://web.archive.org/web/2026/https://www.cga.ct.gov/2025/pub/chap_802b.htm
  (accessed 2026-07-06)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-274 — "When any decedent is entitled to
  payment of medical benefits, federal or state, or insurance or health
  benefits or proceeds, or other intangible personal property owned by
  or payable to the decedent or to the decedent's estate in a sum not
  exceeding one thousand dollars, the judge of probate for the district
  within which such decedent resided may name an administrator, ex
  parte, for the purpose of enabling distribution to the surviving
  spouse or, if there is no surviving spouse, to the next of kin of
  such decedent or to the funeral director or physician..." —
  https://web.archive.org/web/2026/https://www.cga.ct.gov/2025/pub/chap_802b.htm
  (accessed 2026-07-06)
• PC-212, Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will/Administration
  (Connecticut Probate Court Administrator form, Rev. 07/23) — "The
  representations made in this affidavit are made under penalty of
  false statement. ... The decedent died owning no real estate, other
  than survivorship real estate, if any, in the State of Connecticut." —
  https://www.ctprobate.gov/Forms/PC-212.pdf (accessed 2026-07-06)